An Anna slowly raised her head.
What greeted her eyes was a rather handsome young man.
He had delicate features, perfectly sculpted facial contours, hair as black as night, and eyes that seemed to be set with amber.
Ah, so handsome.
This was An Anna's only thought.
After all, in the Snow Territory, most men were rugged in appearance; compared to Xia Lun, they were like uncultured barbarians.
“What’s wrong, little sister?” Xia Lun smiled and waved his hand in front of An Anna, pulling her back to reality.
“I’m fine… Sir, how may I help you?” An Anna replied, her face flushed as if she had just been pulled from hot water, sounding a bit flustered.
“Let me ask her.” Aina suddenly became a little wary and pulled Xia Lun behind her.
“Is there a merchant caravan from your village heading to Crow Village?”
Ah, so beautiful.
Looking at Aina, An Anna was momentarily lost in thought again; compared to her, An Anna felt she wasn't even an ugly duckling.
An Anna’s face turned even redder from shyness.
Aina looked at the little girl in front of her with some suspicion.
As Xia Lun’s wife, she naturally knew how great Xia Lun’s charm was; he was a 'Hero' but also a 'walking male succubus.' Otherwise, she wouldn't have made a mistake with the sleeping Xia Lun…
She noticed the change in An Anna’s expression and, to prevent the sinfully charming Hero from stealing another young girl’s heart, she chose to take over the conversation.
However… after she took over, why did the little girl’s face get even redder?
Could she be… gay?
The expression on Aina’s face gradually turned peculiar.
“I can feel that what you’re thinking about is starting to go off track.” Xia Lun gently tapped Aina’s head with a hand chop.
“I think I told you before, Xia Lun, in front of outsiders…” Aina puffed out her cheeks slightly.
“Right now, our identities are students of Olifanto.” Xia Lun interrupted Aina before things got complicated and then whispered to Aina, “But afterward, I am willing to accept punishment for this transgression, Lord Demon King.”
Aina’s heart skipped a beat.
How could this be? This guy really isn’t a proper Hero!
“Crow Village? You mean Kelo City, right?” An Anna replied to Aina, “Our village does have a merchant caravan going to Kelo City… If I remember correctly, they will be heading to Kelo City today.”
That’s why her parents were rushing to process those furs.
“What a coincidence.” Aina continued, “We want to go to Crow Village and hope to travel with your caravan.”
An Anna pointed in a direction: “The person in charge of the caravan lives in that house.”
Aina nodded and casually handed An Anna a gold coin as payment for the information.
One side of the gold coin was embossed with wheat and flowers, and the other side featured the portrait of a bearded man.
The man was Elro XIII, the current king of the Alan Empire and the first prime minister of the Allires United Nations.
This was the currency issued by the Allires United Nations, and it was also the most widely used and trusted currency among humans. Even many other non-human races had begun to use this currency for transactions.
Below it were silver and copper coins, with an exchange rate of 100:1.
One gold coin was enough for a month’s expenses for an average family in the Alan Empire.
An Anna’s eyes widened: “That… this…”
One gold coin… for her, it was a considerable amount of pocket money.
Yes, pocket money.
Because An Anna’s family… actually wasn’t short on money.
Wealthy merchants and nobles in the Alan Empire were willing to buy furs from Lake Village at high prices. Although hunting in the snow plains carried great risks, there was no doubt that the returns were proportional to the risks.
And An Anna’s father was the most experienced hunter in Lake Village; in terms of strength, he could probably rival a titled knight.
An Anna instinctively wanted to return the gold coin in her hand, but the two had already walked away.
“They walk really fast.” An Anna couldn’t help but exclaim, then happily slipped the gold coin into her pocket.
She could ask the caravan uncles to bring her some new cloth dolls.
…
Given Xia Lun and Aina’s strength, if they wanted to go anywhere in the world, there should be no faster way than flying directly.
But they still chose to travel slowly with a merchant caravan, just like novice Adventurers.
There always had to be a sense of ritual.
The more powerful a strong individual was, the more they pursued life… power, money, strength, after all, they could possess almost anything. If they only indulged in wanton desires, they would sooner or later feel empty and bored.
A sense of ritual played a crucial role, serving as a seasoning for emotions.
However, in the eyes of some who couldn’t understand, this so-called sense of ritual would turn into a strong individual’s eccentricity.
The leader of the caravan, Greer, was a big, bearded uncle, short and stout, always with a smiling face.
Aina handed over a gold coin, and the matter was quickly settled.
“This is too much… It’s just taking you to Kelo City, it doesn’t need this much money…” Although he said this, Greer’s hand honestly tucked the gold coin into his pocket, after all, no one would turn down money.
Because of this, however, Greer specially cleared out a… dog cart, leaving it for Xia Lun and Aina.
It wasn’t horses that pulled carts on the snow plains, but domesticated snow wolfdogs.
Snow wolfdogs were the result of crossbreeding snow wolves and dogs; their temperament was much milder than that of fierce snow wolves, but their size was not inferior. The largest snow wolfdog in the team was nearly three meters long, and its stamina and endurance were also quite outstanding.
The cart’s tires were also the widened type, not skis. After all, the caravan was heading towards the Alan Empire, and once the ice plains melted, skis would no longer be able to proceed.
Greer rang a bell, and the caravan slowly began to move forward.
“Are you two from Kelo City?” Greer began to chat familiarly with Xia Lun, handing over a leather water skin. “It’s wine to warm you up; no one else has drunk from it, it’s all for you.”
Paying money certainly made for good service.
Xia Lun opened the lid and took a sip; the wine was mixed with a milky fragrance and tasted quite good. He then handed it to Aina beside him.
“We are students of Olifanto. We finished our business here and are preparing to return.” Xia Lun casually fabricated an excuse.
“So you are Master Mages.” Greer immediately showed an “as expected” expression; he had naturally seen that Xia Lun’s identity was unusual beforehand.
After all, how could two people who walked all the way to their village be ordinary people?
“However, Kelo City is a very ancient city with a long history.” Greer said with a slight sigh.
“Yes, it’s very ancient.” Xia Lun gently put his arm around Aina’s shoulder, a hint of nostalgia appearing in his eyes.
Crow Village… was where he first met Aina over a thousand years ago.